Remote Learning

Opportunities to sustain learning, be curious and find moments of joy.

We hope the resources on our Remote Learning pages will help families find new ways to make learning compelling and joyful for learners and thinkers of all ages.

#LockdownLearning

All the 11 Lockdown Learning pages on our website, now including adult learning, are open access for anyone to use and share. To access the full range of remote learning provided by teachers specifically for our Kingsmead children, families will need to have access to Google Classroom.

coronavirus

We will keep you up to date via this page so please check in regularly.

Cheshire West and Chester Local Authority and the Headteacher Trade Union NAHT have been keeping us up to date and informed. There are three key principles for childcare for key workers and vulnerable children in CWAC:

Child care, not education, is the priority in schools. Government have asked schools to risk assess and plan to reopen for some year groups in small classes from 1st June. From 1st June, education as well as childcare for the children of key workers will become the priority.

Each school should look after its own (this may not be possible if the situation changes but we will reduce cross infection if communities mix as little as possible).

Until 1st June at the earliest, being in school is a place of Last Resort for childcare to ensure minimal numbers of staff and children, if there is an adult at home who can care for children, they should be at home.

As in any emergency situations evolve and change but at the moment, these are the principles we are working to.

learning at home

Our gift for you and your children - no strings attached

We had been planning for the event of school closure some time before the government's announcement. The coronavirus situation changes daily and advice changes. We are doing our best to plan ahead but, like all other public services, these are unique times. We have been discussing and planning as a staff and governing body how we can support learning in the event of school closure.

Children's learning and achievement will continue to be supported and teachers will lead and encourage learning from home. Learning may be different but one thing that will be so good for children and their parents' and carers' well-being will be activities and opportunities to think of other things, be distracted, occupied and remain engaged in the world out there, albeit virtually for the time being. Children are creatures of and thrive on routine. They may be more vulnerable to anxiety and distress from boredom and social isolation and sustaining as much routine as we can will hopefully minimise the impact of the virus on their mental health and well-being.

Google Classroom and this Remote Learning area of the website are where the learning can be found.

Please accept the home learning our teachers are providing in the spirit in which it is intended. We know that all families have different strengths, challenges and all are unique. We offer the learning without expectation that certain hours or tasks are completed. You know your children best and while routines are generally great, some children will be far less motivated to work at home than others. While we would advise encouragement as this could be a long haul it is important this doesn't become an additional worry or anxiety for adults at these difficult times. This is why we have asked that teachers offer learning and tasks that respect that most of our parents and carers are not trained teachers and many of you are working from home.

remote routines

Great for children and adults too. We are offering a weekly routine to help people feel connected and bothered about (you are). We want to be ready to thrive together when we're all back to normal.

Monday Message- Ms Stewart will aim to blog every Monday on the Headteacher's blog. This will be where new information can be posted so check it out. We will also aim to message our children through Google Classroom. There is an Autumn 2019 and Spring 2020 blog up and after Easter Summer 2020 will be set up.

Tune on Tuesday- Ms S will aim to post a tune with something for children (maybe adults too) to enjoy, divert and reflect on.

Thursday Thoughts - Using Google Classroom and the Headteacher's Blog Mrs Rutter-Brown will be sharing thoughts of the moment.

Friday Fable - Live at 7pm from Casa Stewart there will be a bedtime story. You can find it on the calendar and Ms S will try to remember to link on Google classroom

Coronavirus_FOR KIDS_mHm.pdf

This resource from My Happy Mind will help explain coronavirus to young children and ease anxiety. You can find more of this sort of thing on our Information/Health and Wellbeing area.

Remote learning - guidance for parents

google classroom and hangouts meet

The main tools we will use for remote learning are Google Classroom and Hangouts Meet. Both will require you to know your child's google logon details. If you do not know your child's username and password, please email our IT support james.bellis@kingsmead.cheshire.sch.uk who can reset the password for you. Please then keep it safe as James will be very busy if schools do close.

Hangouts Meet enables your child to access a video meeting with a teacher. Meetings will be scheduled via Google Calendar - please visit https://calendar.google.com and log in with your child's account details to see upcoming meetings they have been invited to. To join the meeting, click on the link in the google calendar event, or visit https://meet.google.com. If your child cannot join the meeting at the time it starts it will be recorded so that they can watch it later.

This is new technology for us so please bear with us - we will update this page with further instructions if necessary.

Teachers have been trained in how to put pre-recorded meets on the Google Classroom. Activities to keep children thinking, active and engaged will be posted on the Google classroom.

more lockdown learning and remote routines

And no logging on required!

From our website

Active @ Home gives links to our School Sport Partnership and other sources of active inspiration while we're under lock down

ENGLISH

Two companies, originating in Cheshire, The Literacy Company and Literacy Counts have developed for English at home. We have used materials from both in school and accessed their staff training. This makes these materials in line with our approach in school while adapted for use at home.

MATHEMATICS

Corbett Maths has been recommended by parents and teachers at Kingsmead, including a secondary maths teacher.

White Rose is Ms Watkins' first recommendation for Maths at home. A daily maths lesson consisting of a short video and supporting resources from BBC Bitesize, covering the White Rose curriculum which we follow in school. Regular access to this for your children will help them keep up and come back to school ready for Maths in September. Ms Watkins says please try and find opportunities to make the learning practical and real life; children only really understand maths when they've held it in their hands.

Oak National Academy is a new collection of high-quality lessons and online resources. Backed by the Government, it has been created in response to the coronavirus lockdown.

Online classroom offers free access to great teachers, delivering video lessons, quizzes and worksheets. Lessons are ordered so your child can learn along a clear plan. The Academy will provide new lessons and resources each week.

Our teachers have plans already in place for daily English and Maths and may signpost to Oak Academy lessons. Teachers may suggest if and how this online classroom is used, perhaps alongside any existing work.

Oak National Academy will fit alongside other resources such as BBC Bitesize to offer a structure for the day for children until schools fully reopen.

Learning activities from the British Red Cross to support children's mental health and resilience, reduce tension and learn about their world and it's people. Messages of Kindness, Living together with Kindness, Stories of Resilience, History of Kindness and Reflections - five sessions for families.

Individual resources cannot replace a school’s properly planned curriculum, and the resources in this list are not intended to do so.

They may be useful for parents in considering how they could support their children’s education, but they should not be used in place of existing resources which schools may be using as part of their continued provision for pupils’ education at this time.

Schools may also wish to explore this initial list of resources as they consider how they continue to support children’s education.

We will review and update the list over time. Details on how that will work will be provided in the coming weeks.

This list of resources is not exhaustive and there are many other resources available to schools.

Learning about humanism for children and adults

Although Cheshire’s beautiful parks, gardens and visitor attractions are now closed, there are some great resources that they have on offer for learning opportunities. With lots of children learning from home, Visit Cheshire have tailored some activities aimed at early years, primary and secondary education with helpful links from their partners across Cheshire.

Children can learn about Cheshire and its history, culture and environment – with a view to engaging with the visitor attractions whilst they are closed and be inspired to visit again when it is safe to do so.